step by step 2000第四册unit05

1. In a study done by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, only 4% of employers surveyed said they reneged on job offers, and only 30% of colleges claimed some of their students were hired then let go. Other companies like Pricewater House Coopers are pushing back start dates for new hires.

2. In a study done by the National Association of Colleges and Employers last fall, companies surveyed planned to hire 25% more college grads this year. In an updated study this spring, those same companies reduced projections to 18%, still a significant increase.

3. A 4. 5% unemployment rate is still very good news for upcoming college graduates. College students are younger and cheaper, and companies love that kind of thing. So the lay-offs may not necessarily affect your job prospects if you are an upcoming college graduate.

4. Depending on your major. Liberal arts grads including English, and psychology majors once snapped up by marketing firms and dot coms will now likely have a tougher time finding work. But majors like computer science, nursing, accounting and finance are still hot, and salaries for those jobs are on the rise.

B.

Employment situation

People graduating last year getting jobs / six, seven different positions

Keren Aloya's brother boom / did well

Sociology majors graduating this year

no job / have job offers rescinded

Companies in tech sector slow college recruiting / renege on

(Intel, Dell, etc. ) job offers

Tapescript:

M -- Michael Hallkas K -- Keren Aloya

C Chris Peterson B -- Bill Coleman

M. I remember people graduating last year and they were already getting jobs coming at them like six, seven different positions at once and now it's like people are scrounging for what they can get.

K. My brother got out of college just a few years ago, and that's when the boom was still going and he, he did pretty well. I just kind of imagined it escalating and getting easier, and easier and easier. But no such luck.

C. Sociology major Keren Aloya graduates from Rutgers this year with a four-year degree and no job, an unwelcome and growing trend among her classmates nationwide, some of whom are even having their job offers rescinded.

B. This year is a little bit different for college grads because the economy has changed and it's changed dramatically during the course of the recruiting season,

C. Companies in the battered tech sector like Cisco., Intel, and Dell has slowed college recruiting. They have also reneged on job offers made to college grads, offering the suddenly un-hired apology bonuses instead.

C. Read the following difficult sentences and listen.

1. So it's been a little bit of a struggle figuring out where I want to be and what I'm going to be doing.

2. Urban areas are just magnets now for young people.

3. I've been told by so many people that your first job out of college is very often-not a job that leads you to your ultimate job.

Part II University life

University Life ( I )

I. Diverse student population

A. Age

B. Socioeconomic backgrounds

C. Racial and ethnic minorities

D. Foreign student population

II. Undergraduate school

A. Course syllabus

1. Number of classes per semester: 5

2. Class time per week. 15 hrs ( + 2 or 3 for lab)

3. Class size

a. Introductory class: + 100

b. Discussion group: 15 -- 20

c. Language class: much smaller

4. Teacher-student relationship: informal, friendly

5. Assignments: reading + other work

6. Preparing hours for class: 2 -- 3 hrs: 1 hr

Tapescript:

Today I'd like to give you some idea about how life at an American university or college might be different from the way it is in your country. To be sure, the student body on a U. S. campus is a pretty diverse group of people. First of all, you will find students of all ages. Although most students start college at around the age of 18, you will see students in their 30s and 40s and even occasionally in their 60s and 70s. Students on a U. S. campus come from a wide variety of socioeconomic backgrounds. Many students work at least part-time, and some of them work full-time. Some of the students live in dormitories on campus, some have their own apartments usually with other students, and others live at home. Some colleges and universities have a very diverse student population with many racial and ethnic minorities. Some schools have a fairly large foreign student population. So you can see that one meets all kinds of people on a U.S. college or university campus. Now that you have some general idea of differences in the student body population, I'd like to talk a few minutes about what I think an average student is and then discuss with you what a typical class might be like.

Let's begin my talking about an average student entering his or her freshman year. Of course, such a person never really exists, but still it's convenient to talk about an "average" student for our purposes. Foreign students are often surprised at how poorly prepared American students are when they enter a university. Actually, at very select schools the students are usually very well prepared, but at less selective schools, they may not be as well prepared as students in your country are. Schools in the States simply admit a lot more students than is usual in most other countries. Also, most young American university students have not traveled in other countries and are not very well-versed in international matters and do not know a lot about people from other countries. Foreign students usually find them friendly but not very well-informed about .their countries or cultures.

What kind of academic experiences will this so-called "average" student have? The average undergraduate student takes five classes a semester and is in class about 15 hours a week. If he or she takes a class that has a laboratory, this will require two or three more hours. Many introductory undergraduate classes are given in large lectures of 100 or more students. However, many of these classes will have small discussion groups of 15 to 20 students that meet once a week. In these smaller groups, a teaching assistant will lead a discussion to help clarify points in the lectures. Other kinds of classes -for example, language classes -- will be much smaller so that students can practice language. In general, American professors are informal and friendly with their students, and, as much as possible, they expect and invite participation in the form of discussion. A large amount of reading and other work is often assigned to be done outside class, and students are expected to take full responsibility for completing these assignments and asking questions in class about those areas they don't understand. As a rule of thumb, students spend two to three hours preparing for each hour they spend in class. American professors often encourage their students to visit them during office hours, especially if the students are having problems in the class.

B. University Life (II)

II. Undergraduate school

A. Course syllabus

B. Student academic obligations

1. Assignments

2. Examinations

3. Paper

4. Quizzes

C. Attendance policies -- regular attendance

III. Graduate school

A. Students: highly qualified and highly motivated

B. Much more independent work

C. Seminars

1. Reading widely on topics

2. Preparing for thorough discussion

D. Working independently in some area of interest and making presentations

E. Writing a research paper

Tapescript:

Let's move on now to discuss student obligations in a typical American class. These obligations are usually set down in the course syllabus. A syllabus is generally handed out to students on the first or second class meeting. A good syllabus will give the students a course outline that mentions all the topics to be covered in class. It will also contain all the assignments and the dates they should be completed by. An average university course of one semester might have three examinations or two examinations and a paper. The dates of the examinations and what the examinations will cover should be on the syllabus. If a paper is required, the date it is due should also be on the syllabus. The professor may also decide that he or she will be giving quizzes during the semester, either announced or unannounced. For students coming from a system where there is one examination in each subject at the end of the year, all this testing can be a little surprising at first. Oh, by the way, maybe this would be a good place for me to mention the issue of attendance. Another real difference in our system is our attendance policies. Perhaps you come from a system where attendance is optional. Generally speaking, American professors expect regular attendance and may even grade you down if you are absent a lot. All this information should be on your syllabus, along with the professor's office number and office hours.

I have only a couple of minutes left, and I'd like to use them to talk about how graduate school is somewhat different from undergraduate school. Of course, it's much more difficult to enter graduate school, and most students are highly qualified and highly motivated. Students in graduate school are expected to do much more independent work than those in undergraduate school, with regularly scheduled exams, etc., some classes will be conducted as seminars. In a seminar class, there may be no exams, but students are expected to read rather widely on topics and be prepared for thorough discussion of them in class. Another possibility in graduate classes is that in addition to readings done by all students, each student may also be expected to work independently in some area of interest and later make a presentation that summarizes what he or she has learned. Usually each student then goes on to write a paper on what he or she has researched to turn in to the professor for a grade.

I hope that today's lecture has given you some idea about student life on an American campus and that you have noticed some differences between our system and yours.

Part III Life after graduation

Author: Aim:

Tara Bray Providing college graduates with the kind of

information they didn't get in college

Book title: Content:

Why Won't the Tips on how to live independently and make

Landlord Take Visa practical plans for the future

Questions:

1. What does Tara Bray mean when she says that college grads are freshmen in life?

2. According to Tara Bray, what is the biggest challenge lying ahead of college grads? What can they do to deal with that?

finding a place to live / flexible / shared housing / cities / not as popular with young people

3. What is some good news for college graduates when it comes to job hunting?

80% / graduates / find work / end of first year / up + 18% / Internet / easier

4. Why is it said by many people that your first job out of college is very often not a job that leads you to your ultimate job? Do you agree?

first job / be told / discover / what really want to do

5. Why should a college graduate give himself a little bit of time right after college?

go through many moods / after college/ discover / what really want / takes time

Tapescript:

College graduations have been taking place across the United States in recent weeks, and many graduates are now busy making decisions about everything from how to decorate their new apartment to how to find their dream job. The Princeton Review, a popular source for books about how to get into college, now has a book about what to do when school is finished. It's called Why Won't the Landlord Take Visa? and it's written by Tara Bray.

Dan Blumberg just finished his last year at Wesleyan University in Connecticut, where he majored in government. He's excited about the future even though he's not sure what that future will bring.

"At the moment I don't even know where I'm going to be living next year. I looked at Washington. I looked at returning to New York. I'm now looking at moving to Chicago. So it's been a little bit of a struggle even just figuring out where I want to be and even what I'm going to be doing. "(Blumberg)

While most of his classmates know where they're going to be living after graduation, Dan Blumberg says many still don't have jobs. Neither did Tara Bray when she finished Dartmouth College in New Hampshire a decade ago. She spent the next few years moving around and working at various jobs, including waitressing, telemarketing and building cooperative housing. Now she's written a book called Why Won't the Landlord Take Visa? It's aimed at providing graduates with the kind of information they didn't get in college.

"I think college in the United States ... especially if someone has an extended adolescence ... you finish with that you're not quite sure how to carry yourself. It's more of a time to be quiet, to listen, to sort of find mentors, to start all over again. And that way you're sort of a freshman again in life. ' (Bray)

That means handling a new set of realities. How to pay off student loans, find health insurance, and budget money for food, housing and other necessities.

Tara Bray's book is filled with tips on how to live independently and make practical plans for the future, while holding onto a spirit of adventure. While many graduates are returning home to live with their parents these days, she believes it's important that they start making their own decisions as quickly as possible. And she says their biggest challenge will probably be finding a place to live.

"Urban areas are just magnets now for young people. There's not the same kind of flight out into the suburbs that there used to be, and that's causing an incredibly difficult and really financially, I think, unstable situation, whereby if you're moving to town or school in San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, or Chicago, the rents are just so much higher than they used to be even ten years ago. And for some people sometimes that eats up all their salary, and they have to get a second job. It's not a good idea." (Bray)

That means being flexible, says Tara Bray, and considering shared housing or cities that aren't quite as popular with young people. There's much better news for college graduates when it comes to job hunting. According to the National Association of College and Employers, 80 percent of the nation's graduates find work by the end of their first year out of school. And despite the recent economic downturn, hiring of graduates is up more than 18 percent. Starting salaries have also risen, and the Internet is making the job hunt much easier.

"You can use the basic search engines to look for information. You can use the job sites. You can put your resume up. You can do your own web site if you're an artist or if you work in digital media. I sort of made the analogy to the old fashioned bulletin board or the newspaper, and it's just obviously expanded it a million fold." (Bray)

Wesleyan graduate Dan Blumberg says he knows it's time to focus on what he wants to do next. But he's more concerned with the long term than the short term.

"I've been told by so many people that your first job out of college is very often not a job that leads you to your ultimate job. So I'm not overly concerned about where I'll be next year. I'm more concerned about where I'll be in five years." (Blumberg)

Tara Bray says it's important to take that long view and avoid regrets later on.

"Giving yourself a little bit of time right after college, whether it's a year, five years, ten years, whatever, to discover what really you want to do, letting yourself go through the very many moods you go through right after college, I think that's all very important. I'm not counseling roaming around the world for ten years trying to figure out who you are. I do think that it's important to strike a balance between what you've been told you want to do and figuring out really what you want." (Bray)

Tara 'Bray is the author of Why Won't the Landlord Take Visa? The Princeton Review's Crash Course to Life After Graduation.

Part IV Listen and relax

Tapescript:

Brent:

I went to college almost as a bolt out of the blue. It was my senior year in high school. I hadn't been doing much of anything. I hadn't taken the college boards. I was a middling student.-I could write well and loved Shakespeare, but I wasn't interested in anything else. And it was the beginning of spring, my senior year, and I was thinking -- well, I'll go and work in the shipyard in Chester, Pennsylvania -- the shipyard which is now closed, by the way -- and I was hanging out in a local place in Chester, Pennsylvania. And the only black professor from the nearby college was in town doing a survey or something, and he came into our hangout. And he talked with us, just local kids about politics and whatever else we were doing.

He zeroed in on me, and he said, "Are you going to go to college?"

And I said, "No."

And he said, "Why not?"

I said, "I'm one of nine children. I have to get a job and go to work."

And he said, "You can be better than that."

And I said, "Well, how can I do this? I haven't taken the college boards. It's April; graduation is just down the road. What do I do?"

Remember, this was 1969. This is when colleges had felt that initial mission to integrate the schools. And remember, there were a hundred cities burning every year -- between 1964 and 1969 -- and people felt really fairly confident in doing radical things. He, the professor -- his name was Eugene Sparrows, to whom this book is dedicated -- got a piece of paper out of his pocket and wrote down the admission director's name, and he said, "Call this man, and tell him I told you to call."

I called, had a long -- hour-long -- interview, in which I sat on my hands very nervously, and I was accepted to college without having taken college boards. They arranged for me to take them in the fall. I had to take preparatory math courses in the summer ... I didn't need English, but preparatory math courses.

And I stumbled at first. But very soon, I was near the top of my class. So the thing that happened was, a man stepped out of nowhere, like the hand of God, in Chester, Pennsylvania, on a

bad street corner, and said, "You can be better.”

Terry:

Now, if this man had not interceded in an almost godlike way, you probably would have gotten a job at the shipyard and would not have written a book or become an editorial writer. You would not probably have entered the professional class, so to speak.

Brent:

Exactly. I have been very fortunate. And one of the things I talk about often, what annoys me as a journalist -- when I have my journalist hat on -- is that people will ask the question: What's the difference between your brother and you? They'll say. And many of those people who, many people, who ask that question have their minds made up. You see, they think it's a matter of constitution -- personal constitution. And they find it difficult when I explain to them that chance and random events played a very big part in my life. And they play a big part in everyone's life.

Part I Warming up
Tapescript:
1. In a study done by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, only 4% of employers surveyed said they reneged on job offers, and only 30% of colleges claimed some of their students were hired then let go. Other companies like Pricewater House Coopers are pushing back start dates for new hires.
2. In a study done by the National Association of Colleges and Employers last fall, companies surveyed planned to hire 25% more college grads this year. In an updated study this spring, those same companies reduced projections to 18%, still a significant increase.
3. A 4. 5% unemployment rate is still very good news for upcoming college graduates. College students are younger and cheaper, and companies love that kind of thing. So the lay-offs may not necessarily affect your job prospects if you are an upcoming college graduate.
4. Depending on your major. Liberal arts grads including English, and psychology majors once snapped up by marketing firms and dot coms will now likely have a tougher time finding work. But majors like computer science, nursing, accounting and finance are still hot, and salaries for those jobs are on the rise.
B.
Employment situation
People graduating last year getting jobs / six, seven different positions
Keren Aloya's brother boom / did well
Sociology majors graduating this year
no job / have job offers rescinded
Companies in tech sector slow college recruiting / renege on
(Intel, Dell, etc. ) job offers
Tapescript:
M -- Michael Hallkas K -- Keren Aloya
C Chris Peterson B -- Bill Coleman
M. I remember people graduating last year and they were already getting jobs coming at them like six, seven different positions at once and now it's like people are scrounging for what they can get.
K. My brother got out of college just a few years ago, and that's when the boom was still going and he, he did pretty well. I just kind of imagined it escalating and getting easier, and easier and easier. But no such luck.
C. Sociology major Keren Aloya graduates from Rutgers this year with a four-year degree and no job, an unwelcome and growing trend among her classmates nationwide, some of whom are even having their job offers rescinded.
B. This year is a little bit different for college grads because the economy has changed and it's changed dramatically during the course of the recruiting season,
C. Companies in the battered tech sector like Cisco., Intel, and Dell has slowed college recruiting. They have also reneged on job offers made to college grads, offering the suddenly un-hired apology bonuses instead.
C. Read the following difficult sentences and listen.
1. So it's been a little bit of a struggle figuring out where I want to be and what I'm going to be doing.
2. Urban areas are just magnets now for young people.
3. I've been told by so many people that your first job out of college is very often-not a job that leads you to your ultimate job.
Part II University life
University Life ( I )
I. Diverse student population
A. Age
B. Socioeconomic backgrounds
C. Racial and ethnic minorities
D. Foreign student population
II. Undergraduate school
A. Course syllabus
1. Number of classes per semester: 5
2. Class time per week. 15 hrs ( + 2 or 3 for lab)
3. Class size
a. Introductory class: + 100
b. Discussion group: 15 -- 20
c. Language class: much smaller
4. Teacher-student relationship: informal, friendly
5. Assignments: reading + other work
6. Preparing hours for class: 2 -- 3 hrs: 1 hr
Tapescript:
Today I'd like to give you some idea about how life at an American university or college might be different from the way it is in your country. To be sure, the student body on a U. S. campus is a pretty diverse group of people. First of all, you will find students of all ages. Although most students start college at around the age of 18, you will see students in their 30s and 40s and even occasionally in their 60s and 70s. Students on a U. S. campus come from a wide variety of socioeconomic backgrounds. Many students work at least part-time, and some of them work full-time. Some of the students live in dormitories on campus, some have their own apartments usually with other students, and others live at home. Some colleges and universities have a very diverse student population with many racial and ethnic minorities. Some schools have a fairly large foreign student population. So you can see that one meets all kinds of people on a U.S. college or university campus. Now that you have some general idea of differences in the student body population, I'd like to talk a few minutes about what I think an average student is and then discuss with you what a typical class might be like.
Let's begin my talking about an average student entering his or her freshman year. Of course, such a person never really exists, but still it's convenient to talk about an "average" student for our purposes. Foreign students are often surprised at how poorly prepared American students are when they enter a university. Actually, at very select schools the students are usually very well prepared, but at less selective schools, they may not be as well prepared as students in your country are. Schools in the States simply admit a lot more students than is usual in most other countries. Also, most young American university students have not traveled in other countries and are not very well-versed in international matters and do not know a lot about people from other countries. Foreign students usually find them friendly but not very well-informed about .their countries or cultures.
What kind of academic experiences will this so-called "average" student have? The average undergraduate student takes five classes a semester and is in class about 15 hours a week. If he or she takes a class that has a laboratory, this will require two or three more hours. Many introductory undergraduate classes are given in large lectures of 100 or more students. However, many of these classes will have small discussion groups of 15 to 20 students that meet once a week. In these smaller groups, a teaching assistant will lead a discussion to help clarify points in the lectures. Other kinds of classes -for example, language classes -- will be much smaller so that students can practice language. In general, American professors are informal and friendly with their students, and, as much as possible, they expect and invite participation in the form of discussion. A large amount of reading and other work is often assigned to be done outside class, and students are expected to take full responsibility for completing these assignments and asking questions in class about those areas they don't understand. As a rule of thumb, students spend two to three hours preparing for each hour they spend in class. American professors often encourage their students to visit them during office hours, especially if the students are having problems in the class.
B. University Life (II)
II. Undergraduate school
A. Course syllabus
B. Student academic obligations
1. Assignments
2. Examinations
3. Paper
4. Quizzes
C. Attendance policies -- regular attendance
III. Graduate school
A. Students: highly qualified and highly motivated
B. Much more independent work
C. Seminars
1. Reading widely on topics
2. Preparing for thorough discussion
D. Working independently in some area of interest and making presentations
E. Writing a research paper
Tapescript:
Let's move on now to discuss student obligations in a typical American class. These obligations are usually set down in the course syllabus. A syllabus is generally handed out to students on the first or second class meeting. A good syllabus will give the students a course outline that mentions all the topics to be covered in class. It will also contain all the assignments and the dates they should be completed by. An average university course of one semester might have three examinations or two examinations and a paper. The dates of the examinations and what the examinations will cover should be on the syllabus. If a paper is required, the date it is due should also be on the syllabus. The professor may also decide that he or she will be giving quizzes during the semester, either announced or unannounced. For students coming from a system where there is one examination in each subject at the end of the year, all this testing can be a little surprising at first. Oh, by the way, maybe this would be a good place for me to mention the issue of attendance. Another real difference in our system is our attendance policies. Perhaps you come from a system where attendance is optional. Generally speaking, American professors expect regular attendance and may even grade you down if you are absent a lot. All this information should be on your syllabus, along with the professor's office number and office hours.
I have only a couple of minutes left, and I'd like to use them to talk about how graduate school is somewhat different from undergraduate school. Of course, it's much more difficult to enter graduate school, and most students are highly qualified and highly motivated. Students in graduate school are expected to do much more independent work than those in undergraduate school, with regularly scheduled exams, etc., some classes will be conducted as seminars. In a seminar class, there may be no exams, but students are expected to read rather widely on topics and be prepared for thorough discussion of them in class. Another possibility in graduate classes is that in addition to readings done by all students, each student may also be expected to work independently in some area of interest and later make a presentation that summarizes what he or she has learned. Usually each student then goes on to write a paper on what he or she has researched to turn in to the professor for a grade.
I hope that today's lecture has given you some idea about student life on an American campus and that you have noticed some differences between our system and yours.
Part III Life after graduation
Author: Aim:
Tara Bray Providing college graduates with the kind of
information they didn't get in college
Book title: Content:
Why Won't the Tips on how to live independently and make
Landlord Take Visa practical plans for the future
Questions:
1. What does Tara Bray mean when she says that college grads are freshmen in life?
handle a new set of realities / pay off loans / finding health insurance / budget money / food / housing / other necessities
2. According to Tara Bray, what is the biggest challenge lying ahead of college grads? What can they do to deal with that?
finding a place to live / flexible / shared housing / cities / not as popular with young people
3. What is some good news for college graduates when it comes to job hunting?
80% / graduates / find work / end of first year / up + 18% / Internet / easier
4. Why is it said by many people that your first job out of college is very often not a job that leads you to your ultimate job? Do you agree?
first job / be told / discover / what really want to do
5. Why should a college graduate give himself a little bit of time right after college?
go through many moods / after college/ discover / what really want / takes time
Tapescript:
College graduations have been taking place across the United States in recent weeks, and many graduates are now busy making decisions about everything from how to decorate their new apartment to how to find their dream job. The Princeton Review, a popular source for books about how to get into college, now has a book about what to do when school is finished. It's called Why Won't the Landlord Take Visa? and it's written by Tara Bray.
Dan Blumberg just finished his last year at Wesleyan University in Connecticut, where he majored in government. He's excited about the future even though he's not sure what that future will bring.
"At the moment I don't even know where I'm going to be living next year. I looked at Washington. I looked at returning to New York. I'm now looking at moving to Chicago. So it's been a little bit of a struggle even just figuring out where I want to be and even what I'm going to be doing. "(Blumberg)
While most of his classmates know where they're going to be living after graduation, Dan Blumberg says many still don't have jobs. Neither did Tara Bray when she finished Dartmouth College in New Hampshire a decade ago. She spent the next few years moving around and working at various jobs, including waitressing, telemarketing and building cooperative housing. Now she's written a book called Why Won't the Landlord Take Visa? It's aimed at providing graduates with the kind of information they didn't get in college.
"I think college in the United States ... especially if someone has an extended adolescence ... you finish with that you're not quite sure how to carry yourself. It's more of a time to be quiet, to listen, to sort of find mentors, to start all over again. And that way you're sort of a freshman again in life. ' (Bray)
That means handling a new set of realities. How to pay off student loans, find health insurance, and budget money for food, housing and other necessities.
Tara Bray's book is filled with tips on how to live independently and make practical plans for the future, while holding onto a spirit of adventure. While many graduates are returning home to live with their parents these days, she believes it's important that they start making their own decisions as quickly as possible. And she says their biggest challenge will probably be finding a place to live.
"Urban areas are just magnets now for young people. There's not the same kind of flight out into the suburbs that there used to be, and that's causing an incredibly difficult and really financially, I think, unstable situation, whereby if you're moving to town or school in San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, or Chicago, the rents are just so much higher than they used to be even ten years ago. And for some people sometimes that eats up all their salary, and they have to get a second job. It's not a good idea." (Bray)
That means being flexible, says Tara Bray, and considering shared housing or cities that aren't quite as popular with young people. There's much better news for college graduates when it comes to job hunting. According to the National Association of College and Employers, 80 percent of the nation's graduates find work by the end of their first year out of school. And despite the recent economic downturn, hiring of graduates is up more than 18 percent. Starting salaries have also risen, and the Internet is making the job hunt much easier.
"You can use the basic search engines to look for information. You can use the job sites. You can put your resume up. You can do your own web site if you're an artist or if you work in digital media. I sort of made the analogy to the old fashioned bulletin board or the newspaper, and it's just obviously expanded it a million fold." (Bray)
Wesleyan graduate Dan Blumberg says he knows it's time to focus on what he wants to do next. But he's more concerned with the long term than the short term.
"I've been told by so many people that your first job out of college is very often not a job that leads you to your ultimate job. So I'm not overly concerned about where I'll be next year. I'm more concerned about where I'll be in five years." (Blumberg)
Tara Bray says it's important to take that long view and avoid regrets later on.
"Giving yourself a little bit of time right after college, whether it's a year, five years, ten years, whatever, to discover what really you want to do, letting yourself go through the very many moods you go through right after college, I think that's all very important. I'm not counseling roaming around the world for ten years trying to figure out who you are. I do think that it's important to strike a balance between what you've been told you want to do and figuring out really what you want." (Bray)
Tara 'Bray is the author of Why Won't the Landlord Take Visa? The Princeton Review's Crash Course to Life After Graduation.
Part IV Listen and relax
Tapescript:
Brent:
I went to college almost as a bolt out of the blue. It was my senior year in high school. I hadn't been doing much of anything. I hadn't taken the college boards. I was a middling student.-I could write well and loved Shakespeare, but I wasn't interested in anything else. And it was the beginning of spring, my senior year, and I was thinking -- well, I'll go and work in the shipyard in Chester, Pennsylvania -- the shipyard which is now closed, by the way -- and I was hanging out in a local place in Chester, Pennsylvania. And the only black professor from the nearby college was in town doing a survey or something, and he came into our hangout. And he talked with us, just local kids about politics and whatever else we were doing.
He zeroed in on me, and he said, "Are you going to go to college?"
And I said, "No."
And he said, "Why not?"
I said, "I'm one of nine children. I have to get a job and go to work."
And he said, "You can be better than that."
And I said, "Well, how can I do this? I haven't taken the college boards. It's April; graduation is just down the road. What do I do?"
Remember, this was 1969. This is when colleges had felt that initial mission to integrate the schools. And remember, there were a hundred cities burning every year -- between 1964 and 1969 -- and people felt really fairly confident in doing radical things. He, the professor -- his name was Eugene Sparrows, to whom this book is dedicated -- got a piece of paper out of his pocket and wrote down the admission director's name, and he said, "Call this man, and tell him I told you to call."
I called, had a long -- hour-long -- interview, in which I sat on my hands very nervously, and I was accepted to college without having taken college boards. They arranged for me to take them in the fall. I had to take preparatory math courses in the summer ... I didn't need English, but preparatory math courses.
And I stumbled at first. But very soon, I was near the top of my class. So the thing that happened was, a man stepped out of nowhere, like the hand of God, in Chester, Pennsylvania, on a
bad street corner, and said, "You can be better.”
Terry:
Now, if this man had not interceded in an almost godlike way, you probably would have gotten a job at the shipyard and would not have written a book or become an editorial writer. You would not probably have entered the professional class, so to speak.
Brent:
Exactly. I have been very fortunate. And one of the things I talk about often, what annoys me as a journalist -- when I have my journalist hat on -- is that people will ask the question: What's the difference between your brother and you? They'll say. And many of those people who, many people, who ask that question have their minds made up. You see, they think it's a matter of constitution -- personal constitution. And they find it difficult when I explain to them that chance and random events played a very big part in my life. And they play a big part in everyone's life.